Violetsbane Chapter 2
(Violet PoV) I continued along the rocky road, stopping every so often to shake pebbles out of my shoes. "...This just couldn't get any worse." I grumbled to myself. "I Was happy being an ignorant sassy traveller, but now I know even more about the world's problems and I've gotta fix 'em. Jeez, and I thought my village was bad..." I was still grumpy from earlier, and I'm still grumpy about it. You can call me a drama queen, but I kinda have a good reason to be so dramatic. Suddenly I heard a familiar sound. Then some sort of flapping. It sounded like wings. I stood still. The sound got closer and louder. Turning around cautiously, I saw a Rock Moth directly behind me. It had the exact same eyes as the one that had chased me; the eyes were the same color too, which was a light brown. "You again?! I thought I'd lost you!" I muttered. "I'll just have to finish you off now." I unsheathed my dagger, ready to strike. Right when I was about to attack it, something hit me in the back of my head. Losing my balance, I tripped on top of the Rock Moth. I got up easily, with the help of the Rock Moth hitting me in the face. I turned to see ANOTHER Rock Moth fluttering around me. "Just how many of you freaks are there?!" I exclaimed, flailing my fists around wildly. Unfortunately, I only punched the air. I felt my cheeks to feel a warm liquid oozing down my face. Oh no. I'm bleeding. The first Rock Moth tackled me again. I flew onto the ground face first. I rubbed my nose. Blood rushed out of it quickly, dripping onto the carved out path. I wearily got up a little, attempting to fight back. "Grr...attempt to murder me, now will you?" I then proceeded to scold Bright Scar. I stared at the pendant. "Oi, Bright Scar! Are you leaving me to die?!" No answer came from the pendant. I growled to myself. "So now I'm gonna die, huh?! Real nice, Bright Scar, just really nice!" I yelled, tears forming in my eyes. "...What's really sad is that no one would even know about my death..." I whisper under my breath. The second Rock Moth assaulted me with even more malice than the last attack. I was breathing heavily now, ready to pass out. What's more is that I could barely see straight. "I can't do this anymore...I need to lie down..." I panted. I closed my eyes, letting the darkness take hold of me. (Mystery PoV) The last of the Rock Moths had vanished into thin air, leaving the pair of eyes behind. They floated away, probably returning to their owner. I looked at the girl passed out on the ground. I know people can get hurt by Rock Moths, but...this was just pathetic. She had blood dripping from her nose and cheek, implying that the Rock Moths easily beat her up. "Hey, get up." I demanded. She didn't stirr, so I kicked her in the side. "I said, get UP!" "...ow! Hey, what was that for?" She snarled at me. I glared at her. This woman is an ungrateful brat, isn't she? "Probably because I saved yourpatheticlittle life by defeating those Rock Moths, and not leaving you to your death." I explained, making it clear that I wasn't exactly happy with saving her life. Come on, let's be honest. If she can't fight Rock Moths, then she was going to die pretty quickly anyways. "I expect a thank you." She looked even more pissed now. "I can handle myself, thank you very much!" "You were going to die!" "So? I'd rather have an honorable death than be a live coward!" She snapped back. "Tell me how death to the weakest monster ever created is honorable!" The woman was now seething. She drew back her right hand and smacked me in the face. I rubbed my cheek, which was stinging with pain. "Violet! Violet, this young man is a friend." A loud voice boomed. Her name is Violet? That's a surprise. Because I thought violets were fragile- oh yeah, I remember. Then nevermind. The girl called Violet just looked at me. "He kicked me!" "You slapped me!" I retort. "Guys settle down! You both are travelling together from now on, whether you like it or not." the voice hissed. "Violet, this is Tristan and he's a warrior. Tristan, this is Violet and she's a thief." "I know." I muttered under my breath. "Maybe I'll call two more companions for you later. Now go defeat the Dark Lord Mapleshade!" I shuddered at that. I really don't want to fight the Dark Lord. Not now, not then, not ever. Violet looked at me begrudgingly. "You just had to step in, didn't you?" She huffed. "It's not my fault that you're so weak!" I shot back. And attractive, I added mentally. Violet growled one more time before continuing along the path. She threw one last glare at me before sighing. "Come on, then." She groaned. "Wait, really?" I raised an eyebrow, starting to smile a little. "You want me to come with you?" Hearing her say that made me blush a little. "Hurry up before I change my mind!" She snapped at me, her cheeks flushed a bright red. I smiled and ran to catch up with her. As soon as I was able to walk alongside her, I caught a glance at her. She had icy amber eyes with an indescribable coldness. Her annoyed facial expression frightened me a little, but it kind of looks rather cute like that. "What?" Violet asked in her usual snappy tone. I looked away from her. "N-Nothing." Violet was unconvinced but she didn't ask me anymore. We just walked along the straight road for awhile, before we were attacked by more monsters. This time there were two Rock Moths with...a larger butterfly with a whole face in between them. "Darn it! More?" I growled, grabbing for my sword which was strapped on my back. "Violet, do you think you can fight? Or walk?" "...oh. So that's what happened to Raymond's face." She muttered under her breath. Then Violet glared at me. "And of course I can! I'm not helpless!" I sighed in defeat. There's just no reasoning with Violet. With my sword in my hand, I smacked the Raymond Butterfly in the face hoping I hit a weak point. It winced in pain, but was still able to fight. The butterfly rushed for Violet, ready to finish her off. Violet appeared to be doing something to the ground. "Violet!" I yell at her. "In front of you!" She glared at me. "I'm well aware, thank you very much!" Wow. I'm starting to think she wants to die. The Raymond Butterfly was ready to strike her any moment, when something seemed to stop it in its tracks. "Yes! Caught it!" Violet whispered while doing a fist pump. "It seems like the thief job IS useful after all!" "Wait, that was a booby trap?" I asked, rather curious. "When did you learn how to do that?" "Since I defeated a slime with a child's face on it. Don't ask." Violet grumbled, while preparing to throw one of her daggers. "And I've never had to use it until now." "Oh." I whispered. I then ran up to one of the Rock Moths and finished it off. "You gonna use it again?" "No, but I need to warm up before I attack. Cover for me." She stated before launching into a bunch of serious looking stretches. "Fine." I mumbled. Is she actually trying to make me do all the work? No use in dwelling on that, though. I turned to face the large butterfly with Raymond's face on it. "Okay, Raymond or whatever your name is, time for you to be freed!" I slashed at the butterfly, aiming for its wings this time. Barely a tear in the wing, but a mark was left on it. It slapped me with its other wing, sending me backwards. "You done yet?" I shouted, getting irritable. Violet smirked. "Now I am." She then looked at me seriously. "But I need a little help finishing the enemy off." I internally groaned. "How?" I asked, trying as much as possible not to be rude. "Distract the enemy? Be your human shield?" "No, I need you to help me throw my knives. It'll finish this sooner, I swear." That is...actually pretty smart. I thought she was going to ask me to do something stupid, really. Violet passed me a dagger and then she threw her knife at the butterfly. The dagger was rather sharp looking, too. It hit the butterfly across its body, leaving a rather large looking wound. The other Rock Moth fell onto the ground before vanishing. "How did you do more than me?" I whisper, shocked. Violet slyly grinning at me. "That's what happens when you're prepared! Now throw it!" I threw the dagger rather clumsily, but somehow it managed to hit the Raymond Butterfly. The butterfly fell to the ground, with Raymond's face floating up before returning to him. "Oh! Thank you!" he said. I smiled. It was nice to do something good for a change. The face floated towards Greenhorne, leaving me and Violet alone. She was smiling, and looking at me. That's a surprise. "Thanks for helping me out, Tristan." Violet sighed with the smile still on her face. "I think we got off on the wrong foot." She THINKS?! "I'm Violet, and I'm a thief. A cautious one, at that." "Cautious? I can somewhat tell, but isn't it more obvious that you're pretty stubborn?" I commented. Violet looked offended. "Stubborn? I'm not stubborn! No way, no how!" "My point proven!" "I'm not stubborn!" She growls at me, with her cheeks showing a bright red. I guess she doesn't like the truth, huh? "So you think you're a big softie instead?" I chuckled. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She stuck out her tongue at me. "No! I'm neither! I thought we've been through this!" "Oh, alright." I rolled my eyes. "You're pretty fun to mess with, though." "Hmph! Let's just find an inn for now." Violet pushed me aside and continued where we left off. She was limping, though. Probably from the fights prior. "...Hey, uh...Violet?" I tapped her shoulder. "You're still limping. Do you need help?" "No! Don't think I haven't noticed you checking me out, Tristan!" Violet snapped. My face reddened quickly. "I haven't been looking at you like that, I swear! I wasn't even going to suggest anything like that!" "Oh? And your brilliant suggestion is?" Violet hissed. I pulled out an HP Banana from my pocket. "This. Take it." "A fruit. Are you sure that you're fine?" "It's an HP Banana it'll heal you!" I snapped at her. She reluctantly ate the fruit, taking little nibbles of it. I'm starting to doubt she trusts me that much. Once she finished it, she jumped up. She ran ahead for a little, and then stopped to let me catch up. "Wow! I'm starting to feel better already!" Violet exclaimed. "What kind of banana is that?" "An HP Banana. It heals you of your wounds." Violet stared at me in disbelief. "Don't look at me like that, I don't know either. But I am an expert on anything else HP Banana related." "What makes you say that?" Violet held back her laughter. "My mom worked in an HP Banana factory. It's only natural that I learn the trade, at least." Violet tilted her head. "Ah, okay. But just out of curiosity, what does your mother do now then?" "It's kind of personal, Violet." I whimpered out of discontent. "I really don't like talking about it. As in never mentioning it to no one." "Alright then. I've got personal things I'd like to keep to myself, too." Violet shrugged her shoulders. We were closer to the inn now. "But since you shared something about your family, I'll tell you a bit about mine." "Okay, then." Violet wistfully sighed. "I have a twin sister, actually. Her name is Twyla. She's very, very energetic. And she loves playing pranks on others." "Has she pranked you before?" I ask. "Of course she has!" Violet laughed a bit longer before returning to her serious look. "But...of course I'll never see her again. So there's no use in basking in old memories." That certainly shocked me. Never see her again? What was Violet implying? Did something bad happen to Twyla? Is Violet a murderer...? She couldn't be. Even if Violet is mean and rude and such, I doubt she'd go that far. I shook off my suspicions quickly, seeing that Violet was ahead of me. I caught up in time to hear her point out the obvious. "Oh, hey! There's an inn!" Violet cheered. "Let's pop in for some rest!" "Not a bad idea." I agreed. "And maybe we could see if they have an Adventurer's Tavern. I'm both famished and parched." "Adventurer's Tavern...? What's that? Is it like the Traveller's Hub?" Violet asked. I slapped my forehead. "Weren't you a traveller before this mission? The Adventurer's Tavern is a place inside an inn where adventurers can eat, drink and share stories with other adventurers. It's also a pretty good place for gossip, if you're into that kind of stuff." "Oh! Okay, that makes more sense." Violet nodded in understanding. "But why bring up gossip to me? I don't like talking about others." "I should be more clear. I like gossip, but I only listen. And it's a good thing to know what others are saying about you, you know." "Hmm. Well, you've already gotten my interest, anyways. I wanna check out this Adventurer's Tavern myself." Violet decided. "Let's just run to the inn, alright?" "Alright. Let's make it a race, then." I shrugged my shoulders. We both got into positions for to race. "Three...two...one!" We both rushed for the inn, going as fast as we could. I smiled to myself. You know, maybe this quest won't be so bad. Maybe I might even be able to face the Dark Lord. But as long as I'm alongside Violet, I get the feeling that everything will be okay. (Violet PoV) Me and Tristan had finally reached the inn, after that lengthy adventure. I was ready to collapse. We were still in the lobby, deciding rooms. "Should we share a room? It's cheaper." Tristan suggested. I narrowed my eyes. "I don't think so, buddy. Just because we're on friendly terms it doesn't mean I'm okay with you checking me out." "Are you still assuming that? I told you, I'm not looking at you!" Tristan snapped, his cheeks a rosy red. "Come on, let's just go to the Adventurer's Tavern." Tristan crossed his arms and walked over to the door that lead to the tavern. I sighed. Maybe I shouldn't bring it up anymore. Even if I'm right, though. I don't understand how he thinks I don't notice it. I could tell that he was looking at my legs during that battle, even if he didn't say anything. I followed after him to the tavern, and to my surprise he waited for me. "Alright, after you." Tristan calmly sighed, opening the door for me. I walked into the room to see a bunch of adventurers chatting amongst themselves or stuffing their faces. I have to say, Tristan wasn't wrong. This looks like a very good place to gossip. I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Violet, let's go find somewhere to sit." Tristan urged. We walked over to an empty booth in a corner. I slumped onto the chair, happy to finally sit down. Tristan seemed to be just as happy to sit as me. "So, why did we come here again?" I yawned. I just noticed that I'm getting tired. Tristan whispered, "Information on the Dark Lord, duh. Did you really think I'd come here just to get drunk?" "Mmm...maybe?" I shakily retort. You'd think I would've said that louder, but no. Cause I'm actually pretty terrified now that we're in a room filled with people. "What's wrong, Vi? I've never seen you so shaken up." Tristan asked with a concerned look on his face. I would've yelled at him for calling me "Vi", but I could ignore that. What's more important is that I'm hearing genuine concern, coming from him. I never thought I'd see that. I sighed. "Nothing, it's just...there's a lot of people in here. I can't deal with others that well." "But you can deal with me." Tristan added. "And trust me, I'm hard to deal with." "I know you're hard to deal with." I groaned. He looked pretty annoyed by that. Oh. He only said that to make me feel better. "But you're an individual. I can handle one or two people at a time. More than that...then it's a big no no." I could tell that Tristan was unhappy with the noises in here as well. He kept looking at the bar, as if he was resisting something. I grumbled. "You know, I never said you couldn't drink anything." "Wait, what? No, I can't drink. I don't drink." Tristan clarified. "I'm looking at that." He pointed over to the commotion nearby the bar. From what I could tell, a fight was going on and it wasn't pretty. There was a small looking man with white and turquoise robes and a taller man with bluish purple robe with white highlights. Both had wands, so I guessed they were mages of some sort. The person they were fighting with was a woman taller than both of them, and she was wearing a white and black...vestment, I think? The sounds got even louder as the fight continued. "Look, I don't know who you are, but you need to leave." the small man wearing the white robe ordered. He had a very high pitched voice indeed. In fact, it hurts my ears. "You've caused quite enough trouble with your stupidity already." The woman growled at him. "MY stupidity? YOU'RE the one you spilt my drink! I'd outta make you pay for all forty ounces of my wine!" I winced at that number. FORTY ounces? Oh boy, that woman apparently must have some big problems to be drinking that much alcohol. I turned back to face Tristan. He had the same reaction I had. "Forty ounces? Do you think she's drunk?" I whisper to him. Tristan nodded. "Yeah. Once you've been here a couple of times, it's very easy to tell the difference. That woman's obviously drunk." "You're making us pay? We didn't do anything to you!" the white robed man shouted. "You spilt my drink! That's bad enough!" she hollered back. This woman isn't going to back down, isn't she? The white robed man took out a strange looking staff that curved at the top and that had a jewel in the curvy part. The jewel began to glow, and a magical aura began to form around him. The woman took out her own staff, which to my surprise and amusement was a stick. Several jeers and taunts were thrown at her for her weapon choice. I kind of felt bad for her. "Just STOP!" Everyone turned around to see the taller man in the middle of the two. I stood on my knees on the booth chair to get a better look at him. He had somewhat dark skin with freckles; he also had silver eyes with very dark auburn hair. I'm ashamed to admit it, but that guy is pretty handsome. The blue robed man was on the verge of crying. "Stargaze, let's just pay for her drink and go! I don't wanna get beaten up by someone because of you!" "Silverfire, we didn't do anything!" Stargaze retorted. "She knocked it down herself!" "Excuse me? Last time I checked, it was you who spilt it!" "You're just saying that because you're drunk!" Stargaze shot back. He turned to face Silverfire. "And no- I said it once and I'll say it again; I'm not paying for her drink!" With that Stargaze stomped off to the lobby. Silverfire sighed and walked over to the woman. "Sorry about my brother. I can pay, if you'd like." The woman shrugged her shoulders. "Alright, whatever floats your boat." I smiled to myself, my cheeks feeling hot. Silverfire was a gentleman, wasn't he? I can imagine myself travelling with someone like him. I can't help but feel bad for him, though. He has to deal with an aggressive person like that all the time, plus the fact that they're brothers? I pity him, I really do. I turned to face Tristan, who was looking a bit too smug. "What?" I asked him calmly. Tristan was turning red with laughter. "I've noticed that you've taken a fancy to that guy over there." He pointed at Silverfire, who was now sitting back down at his seat in a booth. "N-No!" I snapped, my cheeks turning red. Tristan got up and gestured for me to get up too. "Come on, Violet. I'm sure he doesn't bite." I begrudgingly got up from my seat and followed along. Why was Tristan trying to get all up in my business all of a sudden? That's really unlike him. "Hey. You saving these seats?" Tristan asked Silverfire. Silverfire looked up, bewildered. "What did you say? I wasn't paying attention, sorry." "...idiot..." Tristan mumbled quietly. I growled at him softly. "I asked if you were saving those seats." "Oh! No, not anymore." Silverfire shrugged his shoulders. "Did you want to sit here?" "Actually, we were hoping if we could sit down with you. Is that alright?" Tristan explained. I noticed that he was exasperated with Silverfire already. "Sure!" We both sat down in the seat across from him. Tristan lightly elbowed me, trying to get me to say something. I refused to say something, though. He sighed. Tristan wasn't going to get me to say anything. Tristan spoke up for me. "You see, my travelling companion here, which is Violet, seems to be unable to take her eyes off of y-" Tristan stopped when he realised Silverfire wasn't even paying attention. "Hey! Aren't you listening at all?" "Oh? Oh, sorry..." Silverfire apologized sincerely. "I'm really airheaded. Stargaze calls me a liability because of it." I'm starting to really dislike this Stargaze fellow. He thinks his brother is useless because he's being himself? That's just horrible. I think Silverfire's airheadedness makes him adorable. And he can't change who he is, now can he? "Well I think your brother is horrible to say that!" I shouted, surprising Silverfire and Tristan. "You can't change yourself, after all." Silverfire looked away from me. "But I wish I could." "Look, dude. It doesn't matter what Stargaze thinks. You're your own person." Tristan grumpily responded. "Stargaze has nothing to do with it." Silverfire sighed, closing his eyes. "It's..." He stopped suddenly to look at the door. I glanced over as well to see Stargaze at the door, waiting for his brother. "I need to go." Silverfire looked back at me one last time before leaving. "And Violet- I expect we'll be seeing each other soon." I shivered violently. What was that? And how did he know my name? He definitely wasn't paying attention to Tristan when he was talking to him about me. Something seemed off about him, and if I'm going to see him again, then...I'll have to get to the bottom of this. "Violet, I think we should go." Tristan urged. For once, I agree with him. We walked out of the Adventurer's Tavern and headed to the front desk. We decided to share a room. Once we got into the room, I collapsed onto the closest bed. I sighed. "What even was today?" "I have no idea, Violet. But I'll tell you what." Tristan shrugged his shoulders. "Bright Scar knows what she's doing, even if we think it's crazy and/or stupid. Who knows, we might even get our next companion tomorrow." "You really think so?" Tristan nodded. "Yeah, in a way. But for now, let's just hit the hay. I'm pretty bushed." He walked over to his bed after taking off his armor. "'Night." "Alright. Good night, then." I whispered back. Tristan didn't seem to hear me. I heard snoring from my right side. "...Wow, he really was tired." (Silverfire PoV) Me, Stargaze and another one of our friends, Columbia were sitting outside late at night. We were training our skills, except for Columbia who was checking something on one of her screens. She's a scientist. "Alright, Silverfire. Let's practice a basic move." Stargaze panted, still out of breath from our last mock battle. I grumbled to myself. I don't get why he's trying to train me still. I already know how to cast the basic spells. Why is still he treating me like I'm useless? Then I remembered at once; my conversation with Violet and Tristan. They both said I was pretty airheaded, but at least Violet didn't care. I heard what Tristan had said about me- that I was an idiot. And in every way, he was right. Columbia finally interrupted. "Stargaze, don't you think Silverfire is ready to learn the advanced techniques? He's already mastered Fire, Lightning and Explosion." "I won't teach him anything higher than that, and you know why." Stargaze uttered through bared teeth. "Stargaze, your little brother has feelings too. You've got to understand that." "Please Stargaze! I won't hurt anybody!" I begged. "No! I shouldn't even be watching you. Why did Hazel make me take care of you?" Stargaze snarled at me. I winced at the mention of Hazel. Hazel is my older sister, but younger than Stargaze. The both of us were travelling together when the incident happened. Since then I've had to be babysitted by Stargaze. Columbia got up from where she was sitting. She looked at Stargaze sternly. "Hazel sacrificed her life to save your little brother! You should be happy that he's alive!" "Well I'm not! He never should've existed, anyways!" Stargaze snapped at her. "From what I've seen, he's a living curse!" "Stop!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. They both stopped fighting to look at me. "If I'm such a burden on you, Stargaze, then why won't you let me leave?" "I'm doing this to protect you, you ungrateful brat!" Stargaze responded. "Are you really trying to protect me? Or are you trying to protect yourself?" Stargaze glared at me. "If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to make sure you don't kill anyone else!" "Well fine, then! Since I'm obviously a threat to everyone, I'll run away to the most solitary area in the world!" I spat back at Stargaze before turning away from him to run. They called for me to come back, I couldn't care less. I'm done with Stargaze. For good. Category:Violetsbane Chapters